Pakistan carries out night-training launch of ballistic missile

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan achieved yet another landmark in formidable defence of the country with successful night-training launch of surface-to-surface ballistic Ghaznavi missile capable of carrying multi-type of warheads up to 290 kilometres.

“Pakistan has successfully carried out night-training launch of surface-to-surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi,” Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Thursday.

The ballistic missile is capable of delivering multiple types of warheads up to 290 kilometres, the military’s media spokesman wrote on Twitter. President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan conveyed their appreciation to the team, and congratulated the nation on the feat, he added.

The DG ISPR also shared a video of the launch in his tweet. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) Zubair Mahmood Hayat, the three services chiefs General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan also congratulated the team of scientists and other officials for successful night-training launch of short range ballistic missile which is capable of carrying conventional and non-conventional arms.

The defence analysts have described the night-training fire of ballistic missile by the Armed Forces Strategic Command (AFSC) as a timely action of sending a message to the adversary that Pakistan was ready in the face of any misadventure. Lieutenant General (retd) Ghulam Mustafa, who commanded AFSC as its first commander from the year 2002 to 2005, termed the training launch timely. In this connection, he also referred to test-fire of long range missile Ghouri on May 25, 2002 during the heightened tension between Pakistan and India following which world leaders telephoned the-then president calling for restraint. He said the training launch of Ghazanvi is also strong message to Indian prime minister and defence minister.

“The missile is named after 11th century conqueror Mahmood Ahmad Ghazanvi who attacked Hindustan 17 times and it is also very significant,” he said.

“The training launch of Ghazanvi missile is also strong message to the adversary about Pakistan’s high state of preparedness for war,” Lieutenant General (R) Amjad Shoaib, another defines analyst, said.